


Paramount

by AcidRainclouds



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22857628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcidRainclouds/pseuds/AcidRainclouds
Summary: Two bugs duel to retrieve something of valueAlso Hornet take a nap challenge
Relationships: Hornet/Lace (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 74





	Paramount

The Moss Grotto rarely spoke. The tranquil quiet of nature provided a gentle peace for those seeking solace from the constant ringing of the kingdom above. Occasionally, though, it would chitter or screech, or rustle in what little wind it experienced, and the ceaseless roaring of numerous waterfalls that littered the grotto acted as a constant, hushed warning. Here, at the bottom of Pharloom, far from the sparkling gold of the palace and the jovial singing of townsfolk, quiet was paramount.

Aside from the two bugs darting through the undergrowth, that is.

“Come now little Spider! You’ll have to be quicker than that!” Lace taunted, side vaulting over a fallen pillar.

Hornet growled in response. She reeled back her needle and launched it with deadly force. Its target barely managed to duck in time as the weapon zipped over her and off into the distance. Lace dodged to the side, knowing what would come soon after that. 

_So predictable, my lovely little morsel._

Her pursuer followed soon after the weapon, pulled along by the thread attached to the needle. Time seemed to move in slow-motion as one passed the other, their faces inches apart. One gaze puckish and teasing, the other; determined and focused on the chase. 

They burst out of the underbrush into a clearing, high stone walls covered with moss and old markings surrounded them. They slid to a stop across the grass, neither turning their back to the other, Hornet yanked at her thread, pulling back her needle from the far wall where it had struck. “Your game has ended, Lace.” Hornet declared, readjusting her grip on the needle.

Tense excitement filled the air, Hornet would never admit it aloud, but she had been eager to duel with Lace again. She was annoying, no doubt, but she was skilled. Hornet was the one used to being three steps ahead of her opponent, but it was different with Lace. She treated the whole thing as a game, and that carefree attitude and unpredictability would throw her off guard more than she’d care to admit. 

But she had greater issues to contend with and could not afford to be distracted any longer.

“I have had enough of this imbecility, Lace. you _will_ return to me what is mine...“

she took her fighting stance, needle at the ready.

"Or suffer the consequences.”

Lace only giggled in response. _Oh this game is far from over,_ she thought, _as a matter of fact, we’re just getting to the best part!_

She straightened her posture, “Oh dear, my apologies, but uh... if I recall correctly...” She moved her hand up to her chin in mock remembrance. 

“I said you may reclaim your item,” she brandished her pin in one swift movement, she grinned “Provided you catch me.” 

A melody of sound filled the formerly silent clearing. Steel clashing against gold, battle cries and laughter, anticipation sparking through the air and in between metal. Lace had never had this much fun in her life, even during their first bout, when all that mattered was completing her assignment and snuffing out that little light. A part of her saddened at the thought, though, if she were to skewer the little beast, who would she have to dance with? She certainly didn’t want to return to her petty life of empty faith and dourness. It was boring, repetitive, harsh on the ears. She was tired of it, _sick_ of it. but this, oh _this_ was a new kind of song. 

_She_ was a new kind of song. 

Hornet jumped away and pulled a thread taut as Lace jabbed at her with her pin. Thread pulled Lace’s legs together, throwing her off balance and onto the grass with a painful _thud._

It took her mere seconds to gather her wits, but only came face-to-face with the tip of a blade. 

“Ah, is our duel concluded already?” 

Hornet rolled her eyes, then narrowed them, “Give. Now.”

“Yes yes, have patience will you?”

Lace fumbled around her pockets, the needle still pointed in between her eyes. She pulled out a small trinket, inset with six eyes resembling that of the weavers, and tossed it to Hornet. 

“Not that I would have gained much use from it anyhow.” 

She detangled the thread around her ankles and stood, dusting herself off, “You beasts and your toys are so needlessly confusing someti-“

“It is not a _toy,”_ Hornet interjected.

“Oh? Then what _is_ it, hmm?”

“All I know is,” Hornet violently stuffed the trinket away in her cloak pocket. “Is that it is mine.”

She was dodging the question. As well as avoiding meeting Lace’s curious gaze. Frustration burned hot in Hornet’s throat. In between the restless nights and constant maneuvering around the blades of her enemies, it was becoming hard to collect her thoughts. Even her vision felt like it was bobbing around in her head. 

She had connections to Pharloom, she knew that much. but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what those were. Was Pharloom the actual homeland of the Weaver’s? Was her mother connected to it as well? What of the bellringers that brought her here in the first place? What did they want? One question only led to another, answers she never thought she’d care to know now haunting her more than the ghosts of Hallownest ever had. 

A gentle hand on the side of her mask jolted her out of her thoughts. Lace gazed at her with a concerned expression, but there was also warmth behind it, and it never occurred to Hornet until that moment that she was even capable of making such a face.

“You are far too concerned with things dead and gone.” She tilted her head. “You are alive, are you not? Why bother chasing ghosts?”

Hornet stayed silent. 

“A bit difficult to say I’m alive when I have to sleep with one eye open.” She eventually sighed.

“When you sleep at all.”

She stifled a laugh, and Lace smiled softly, removing her hand from Hornet’s face. 

“I have an idea.” 

Hornet finally met her eyes. “Oh? And what would that be?”

“Follow me.” 

Lace took the spider’s hand before she could protest, pulling her along to some secret destination through the moss and leaves, all Hornet could do was keep up.

They slowed to a stop, and Hornet took the opportunity to take in their surroundings. They were still in the Moss Grotto, but in a secluded portion of it she didn’t even know existed, hanging moss-covered all the entrances and exits. Bathing the space in dim light, the only other sources of light coming from strange glowing butterflies. 

_Not unlike lumaflies._ Hornet immediately regretted the thought when a pang of homesickness hit her. 

Lace let go of her hand and walked up to a wall especially covered some of it aside and revealed the entrance of a tunnel enshrouded in darkness, turning to Hornet and giving her a nod to go inside.

Walking up to the small entryway, she hesitated. 

Lace rolled her eyes at Hornet’s caution, “Would it make you feel better if I went in ahead of you?”

Hornet shot her a glare and walked ahead, glancing back every so often as Lace followed close behind. The tunnel shrunk the further in they got, forcing both of them to crouch.

“Apologies, this seemed bigger the last time I was here.”

“And when was the last time you were here?” Hornet saw a dim light growing bigger, ducking out of the crowded hole.

Lace followed suit, walking out into tall, yet small, cavern. Luminous moss covered the walls in bunches and, along with the glowing butterflies fluttering around, made for quite the light show. In the center of the room, a small pond with water so clear she could see the plants and minuscule bugs at the bottom.

“When I was but a child…” She breathed, looking around the cavern, taking in all that had and hadn’t changed, sparks of memory glimmering in her eyes. Hornet noticed how she seemed to shimmer in the light, a figure of white reflecting all that shone down on her in one brilliant beacon. 

She was breathtaking.

Lace snapped out of her reminiscing and turned to look at Hornet, who quickly looked away when she realized she was staring, opting to look at the small pond instead.

“So um- why bring me to place with such… such sentimental value?” 

She was met only with a soft chuckle as Lace sat down on the edge of the pond next to where Hornet stood, gazing into it as well. “I cannot say, I was reminded of it when you mentioned your… poor... sleeping habits. And... well…”

She stood abruptly, causing Hornet to jump and accidentally meet Lace’s intent stare.

“I wanted someone to know.”

Hornet chuckled nervously, not daring to break eye-contact with her, not that she really wanted to, “And you choose to show me?”

“Who else?”

They stared at each other for what felt like eons, neither moving, neither speaking. There was a type of comfort in each other’s gaze, a sense of understanding and mutual curiosity. The longer they stared the more their pulses quickened, the faster their hearts would beat. 

They both looked away.

Hornet desperately attempted to calm the butterflies in her stomach and shake away the color rising in her cheeks. She let out an exasperated sigh and fell into a sitting position on the floor, she felt so tired. Trying to make sense of all that she didn’t know, and now having to understand these feelings that threatened to consume her whole, it left her so very, very tired.

“You know…” Lace sat down beside her, resting her head on her knees but angling it to look at her. “You may rest here, should you so chose.”

Hornet gave an exhausted laugh, “What so you can dispose of me in my sleep?”

Lace shook her head as she laughed, “No, I’m not going to do that. Because…” She scooted closer and placed her head against Hornet’s shoulder, causing her to tense. “I am going to rest as well.”

Hornet didn’t believe Lace would trust her so suddenly, after all the threats and near-death battles. Why should she?

“And what makes you think I wouldn’t do the same?” Hornet asked, her voice a deathly whisper.

“Because unlike me, you have a sense of honor, Hornet of Hallownest.” She closed her eyes relaxed against Hornet. “You are bound to your sense of duty and honor via your own guilt. Though what that guilt may be for, I have yet to discern.”

Hornet had no energy to protest against her claims, she conceded, placing her arm around Lace’s shoulder, pulling her close and laying both of them down on the moss coated floor, cuddled together arm-in-arm.

“Take comfort in this, Hornet,” Lace stroked Hornet’s face affectionately, her eyes open only a sliver. “No one will ever die here, not in this place, not while I live and breathe.” 

Hornet smiled, bumping her forehead against Lace’s and allowed sleep to overtake her, but not before mumbling something just audible enough for Lace to hear. Who smiled before following her into a calm, dreamless sleep. There was no sound here, in this gentle space, because here:

quiet was paramount.

**Author's Note:**

> This is really my first time writing something like this, so I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
